Following the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last week, Scottish and African archbishops have urged the United Kingdom not to “ignore the cry of our global family” under the “crushing weight of unjust debt”. Source: The Tablet.
Glasgow Archbishop William Nolan; Bishop of Mzuzu, Malawi, Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda; and Archbishop of Ndola, Zambia, Benjamin Phiri, came together to call for the UK to tackle global debt.
Ninety per cent of all international private creditor debt contracts for lower income countries are governed by English law, meaning that a change in UK legislation could make a real difference to people living in poverty around the world, without any cost to taxpayers.
“Today, one in three Commonwealth nations faces a debt burden that actively destroys lives and futures – eroding hard-won progress on health, education, and climate resilience,” the bishops said.
“A gap in the law allows companies to stop or hinder any international debt renegotiations. Change is needed.”
Forty-eight per cent of all Commonwealth countries spend more on external debt repayments than education, while 68 per cent of low and middle-income Commonwealth members spend more on repayments than on healthcare.
The bishops said this is the worst global debt crisis in more than 30 years, with vulnerable Commonwealth nations spending $US265 billion ($376bn) in repayments over the past six years alone.
This coincides with the 40 per cent projected fall in aid to African countries and a reduction from £11.6bn ($22.18bn) to £6bn ($11.47bn) of its international climate finance commitments – a contribution which has halved at a critical time when it “should have doubled”, according to the bishops.
“A true Commonwealth cannot exist when the playing field is so deeply rigged,” the bishops said. “This is not just a financial flaw; it is a moral failure that strips futures away from young people across the Commonwealth.”
The bishops referred to Pope Francis’ Jubilee Report, which commissioned a group of 30 of the world’s most prominent economists to create a blueprint for a “sustainable, people-centred global economy”.
Pope Francis urged the international community to work toward forgiving foreign debt, recognising the “ecological debt” between the Global North and South.
“We hope that the spirit of ‘concern for the vulnerable’ instilled in the Commonwealth Charter, alongside the commitment to ‘champion small states’ and ‘advocate for their special needs’ inspires the UK Government to finally take action on this most important of global issues,” the bishops said.
The bishops urged the UK government to introduce legislation that compels private creditors to act fairly and all nations to build a permanent framework for international debt relief.
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Archbishops spotlight ‘crushing weight of unjust debt’ amid Commonwealth Games (By Aili Winstanley Channer, The Tablet)
